Has Nothing To Do With Anime
by Koru the Wolf Demon
Summary: This is a shortened version of another book I wrote, and has nothing to do with anime, but you should read it anyway.


Snow settled itself lightly on the already hard, frozen ice, fluttering through the air like the most delicate feather, coating every tree branch, rock, and flower with a sugary powder of cold. The trees stood knee-deep in the ground, their arms reaching up through the earth to reach the sunlight, and now were up even farther in the layer after layer of icy snow that'd packed the ground, turning the top layer of dirt into one giant frozen sheet, making it hard to get water. They were cold, and shivered in the breeze, the leaves that might've kept them warm lying crushed on the ground. They creaked as they swayed, now having a dank feel, and admired the wildflowers, how bright green their stalks were, and the admirable pinks, purples, yellows, whites and blues of their heart-shaped petals. The birds, too, admired them, but as they sat perched in the trees and fluffed their feathers, some of them swooping from the canopy, some of them sleeping in their nests, the flowers looked more like delicious butterflies than adorable morning glories. Sunlight peaked through thick gray umbrellas of clouds, and the snow slowly melted, giving way to the now very wet, leaf-covered floor of the foresty mountainside. The foxes, who'd been cuddled up in small burrows, decided to come out and enjoy the day; they, unlike the badgers, who stayed underground out of disgruntlement, valued the sun in such a chilly season. Herds of deer and flocks of geese all gathered on the marshy pond, while the weasels and wildcats stayed in their own hiding places, watching everything. Although the bears were lying in their cozy caves, snoring loudly and not even caring to move in their hibernation, were unheard from, the spiteful wolverine scowled as he walked, stomping like a bear over the snow, his fluffed tail balancing him above the ice sheet, waiting for one of the smaller deer to miss a step, or for one of the lizards, snakes, or rodents to scamper by. Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd be fast enough to catch a bird, or maybe even a hare, that is if the wolf pack didn't get him first.

Kala yawned a wide yawn and stretched her forepaws out in front of her as far as they would go. Her tail whisked and she stood peacefully, nudging each of the lazy pups to wake so the pack could go run. Her rime-gray back fur was the only part of the beautiful white body that wasn't a-sheen in the bright morning of the riverside sheer, but it was the uniqueness of her pastel blue eyes that kempt her stature.

"Awww…." One of the pups sighed, rolling onto his belly and looking at his two brothers. If he wasn't so much larger, and so much…rounder…than his brothers, they would be very hard to tell apart. Each of them had tiny, brown, dark gray, and off-white fur, just like their father Inaiki, but the smaller pup was a little odd himself, for not only did one of his ears bend at the tip like a retriever puppy, but he'd inherited only one of his mother's blue eyes, the other being amber like his dad. And so the middle one was plain, not so round and bulky, not so small and weird, being just plain and ordinary, but none the less deeply cared for by his mother. Another wolf watched from the far distance, staying right on the edge of the territory gap, watching these pups and how much Kala loved them. He, too, had been one of her pups, a year or so ago, and had been loved like that, but had grown and left home, only to return later and be booted out by her. It was sad, he thought, that she could not remember her own son, and a thought occurred to him: If she cannot remember me, why can I remember her? It was obvious, one of the reasons being that she had many pups to know, and he only one mother, not so unlike a school teacher, like he'd seen in the large brick building in the town at the bottom of the slope. They were the alphas, over the young small ones, and often other betas and outsiders, older ones, would come back to talk to them. The teacher alphas would say they remembered them, but he knew that deep inside, they'd had so many people to remember, they probably didn't have a clue who they were.

Zaksin, the brawny, slightly simple-minded beta of the pack, looked up, the long, shaggy dark fur around him coated in snow, and him being so fluffy he looked not so different from a wolf shaped cupcake. But he noticed the young adult wolf standing on the edge of the territory, and knew him well. He was Kodi, one of his brothers. He, Kodi, and one other had been another of Kala's litters. Kodi had left, he'd stayed and become the beta to his father, and the other one, who had never really been given a name, had not ever returned from one hunt.

"Kodi…?" Zaksin stood with a loud groan, stretching the back leg he'd been sleeping on, and trotted over to the territory gap, touching noses with his brother, their feet firmly planted on the edges of their land, not daring to step into the three feet or so that was a no-zone. "Why are you over there? Why not be over here with your family?"

"Mother doesn't remember me," he sighed, sitting lightly on his haunches and pulling his tail around him, in the manner of his father. "And when I try to come back, she growls and wards me off, as if I'm some monster. She treats me like a rogue."

"Well, it's your fault," Zaksin scolded, pushing his ears back a little. "If you hadn't gotten so cocky and left, you'd be here right now. And the deer are in our territory…but you're one of the Southern pack now?" Kodi nodded solemnly and patted his tail in annoyance. "Oh. I thought I smelled more than ten over in that land. Hey, you know, I've always wondered what it's like over there….I got an idea." Kodi, being Zaksin's brother, knew that this was going to be some second-long brain burst of his, and would probably make no sense at all, so he rolled his eyes and pushed one of his flattened ears up to show attention. "What if I trade you places? You'll getta go home, and I'll getta see what it's like over there."

"Zaksin, that's stupid," he groaned, taking a few steps back into his own land. "I don't know how you managed to live." In a huff he left, turning away into the cold to sulk among the blue-furred, rangy members of the southern pack, where he didn't at all feel well or at home, but at least was fed and not alone.

The leader of the southern pack stood at the top of the rise, his feet hidden in the dew-covered wildgrass, and howled. He howled loudly, full of mourning, the song of sadness echoing through, harmonized by a few sound voices left in the pack. Their once proud pack of ten members-eleven, counting that brown-furred scraggler that'd joined them-was drug down to four. He, his beta, one of his pups, and the omega, all of which were crying for the pack. The foaming mouth and rigid madness was a terrible sickness, spreading fast and killing slow. It'd started with one. His mate, the beautiful she-wolf of the blue-furred wolves, had grown strange, distant, and eventually crazy, snapping at everyone, her eyes rolling around, foam dripping from her mouth. She'd killed three members of the pack, and had bitten the other three, then left to the land northwest, so left of sanity that she'd walked right into the northwestern pack's territory. It was something never to do, for the ghost dwelled there. A devil was she, the white wolf with a dust of gray on her back, and the blue eyes. Her howl was eerie and frightening, and to see this ghost angry was even worse. It was the territory of Inaiki, the legendary tawny wolf that had killed three giant grizzly bears all at once. That was a mark of history, showing that the wise strength and cunning of the wolf outmatched the blatant muscle and clumsy lip of the bear. Inaiki, being so strong, then outmatched not only his own father to gain leadership of the land, but also had taken the land of the dwindling river pack, and with one look from his brown-amber eyes had stopped the two-legged man killer from firing a flying fang out of the shot stick.

Kodi slunk on his belly out of the pack. Although wolves love to howl, and although a wolf will howl for many reasons- to show sadness, anger, triumph, happiness, togetherness, loneliness, to find the lost, or even to send the elk running and the birds scattering from the marsh-he didn't at all feel like howling. His mind was fraught with troubles, and he was so very sad that he didn't have the energy to howl. All he could do was curl himself into a tight ball in the snow bed, cover his nose with his tail, and listen to the pack's sad song. The she-wolf and a few others had left some long time ago, having gone mad with the evil sickness, into his family's home. It was horrible, his mother, his brother, and the binders of the pack-they were all gone. He could smell his father, and the three pups that were his brothers but a later generation. They were still there. But there was also one of the blue-furred wolves there, the ones that had been bitten by the she-wolf and turned crazy themselves. It was the one called Lirin, a lanky wolf with a thick mane, long legs, and an almost cat-like tail.

"Father," Kodi called softly, taking one bold step into the homeland. "Are you and the young ones okay?" A noise from somewhere in the brush startled him, and he jumped, feeling himself stumble all the way into the land where he was not supposed to go. A beautiful red and brown wolf came out of the bushes. It was Dalorie, a wolf from the eastern pack on the other side of the big pond. She and he had known each other many years ago, as pups they had played together, until one day some of the man-killers had come to the pond and scared them away to build giant square shelters. She yipped in joy, patted the ground with her paws, and greeted him as excitedly as he greeted her. They could've made a breeze, how hard their tails beat behind them, as they ran in circles, romping with each other.

"Kodi! You are not gone!" She sang, dancing gracefully around him. "The others have said that you were dead, killed by one of the dark gray wolves of the southern pack. But you are not dead!"

"Dalorie, you're here still. I'm so glad to see you. What's happened to my father and brothers?"

"Lirin killed everyone but them. They have been running away from him, trying to get into the other territories. But my good alpha will not let him in, and the other alphas of the other packs will not let him in. They think he and the pups are carrying the sickness, even though they're not."

"My father? _Running_ from Lirin?" Kodi was surprised.

"He fears death, for the pups and himself," said a deep, growling voice from somewhere by the stream. It was Jonoka, the wolverine that lived on the rise by the river in a little cove made by rocks. He stalked towards them, lumbering slowly on his short legs, even though they could take him very fast, his fluffed up tail swaying back and forth behind him. "Inaiki is a great wolf, yes, a bear killer and an alpha, but that doesn't mean he wants to die."

"Well," questioned Dalorie, sitting down beside Kodi. "If they are running, why don't you?" She knew that it was very hard to frighten a wolverine, because they were like small monsters, and their ego was a masterpiece above all, but she wanted to know anyway.

"That stupid wolf can't hurt me. If he decides to chase me, I can run faster, dig better, fight meaner, and hide." He paused, as if thinking maybe he might've said that differently. "The mangy beast can't fight me, especially not when his head's all messed up like that." Kodi rolled his eyes, pushing his ears back and lifting up his paw.

"M-hm. Anyways, have you seen my father anywhere? Or maybe Lirin?" It was a silly question to ask, since he could smell his father and brothers on the far north side of the territory, and the noxious smell of Lirin's sickness traveled far into his nose and made him worried. But Dalorie's question had been useless, too, and even though they already knew these things that they were asking, it was good to hear them said.

"Um…Inaiki should be somewhere north of here, over the big waterwood, and Lirin's probably over there picking a fight with the bears." That was something Kodi had seen. The beautiful young she-wolf of the southern pack had been taken by the sickness; she'd attacked one of the giant grizzly bears and had been mauled. But it wasn't going to happen to Lirin. The only bears that'd been bold enough to stay in Inaiki's territory were Sunry and Ringeyes, and they were just two young black bears, and if Lirin bothered them, they would just chase him away. Dalorie barked, standing suddenly, and he could feel the chill that went up her spine, and could smell and hear what she'd smelled and heard. It was Ringeyes, and he was galumphing across the levy, brawling as if he were a scared little cub. Jonoka hissed, the fur all over him puffing up and making him look even bigger than he was. He didn't like the bears at all.

"Run away, run away!" Ringeyes called, turning onto the rise, facing the river and looking back. He was panting hard, and spit dribbled from his lip. "The crazy blue wolf is coming. He has the sickness, and the man-killers with the giant shot sticks are chasing him too!"

"Ringeyes, calm down," Kodi said forcefully, standing tall so the bear knew he was alpha. Jonoka had dashed back into the little cave he lived in. Dalorie was still startled by the bear. "Hey, where's Sunry?"

"Sunry tried to keep the blue wolf away," Ringeyes cried, his blubbering whimper irritating Kodi. "But the wolf chased me instead. Then the man-killer with the shot stick sent a flying fang into his side, and now he is in the forest. I couldn't help him." He sat down and wiped slobber from his face, covering his eyes with his big clumsy paws. "And now the man-killer is coming to kill the crazy wolf."

"Man-killer? You mean one of the men who hunt?" To the animals of the mountain, there were several kinds of man. There were the very small men, the ones that were the pups, and they were looked after by the mother women, the ones that also watched over the youthful, short human people. There were then the men, the betas and alphas, who seemed to think they were at the top of the food chain, and then there were the man-killers, human people who killed the animals. "Why are they here?"

"Kodi, you should know," Dalorie sighed in a daze. "The man-killers are the ones that come when the sickness is here. They come and kill the sickened creatures." He remembered that a long time ago Dalorie's sisters had been killed with a shot stick, just like that. As he thought the noxious smell of illness got very close and frightened him, and he whimpered when the stink went into his nose, and the sound of paws on the leaves came into his ears. A flock of birds exploded from the forest nearby and screamed about the man-killer and the sick wolf who were coming that way.

"There's no time to think on this," he growled, the fur on his back rising as he saw Lirin come into view. Ringeyes blubbered more cries of fear, shaking his head and flinging spit all over. "We gotta do something." Dalorie nodded and trotted up to the river bank. None of them had been paying any attention to the other scent coming quickly their way, because they were scared by the crazy beings. As Kodi stiffened his legs, lowered the set of his head, bristled the fur on his scruff, set his tail high, and bared his teeth, Lirin came blindly galloping closer. His eyes were wide and mad-looking, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth, but the gray lightening was suddenly overthrown by a big streak of brown lightening that exploded out of the forest. Baffled out of his mind, Kodi stumbled back on his haunches, looking to see what was happening. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dalorie follow the sound of whimpering into the trees. It was his three young brothers, and she was going to aid them. Those pups were still young, even though they were already eating meat, and needed someone to watch them so they were not lost or killed in the forest. Inaiki came limping out of the trees, blood dripping from his teeth, and turned back to see the man-killer walking warily over. His father hadn't even noticed him, Kodi growled to himself, and ran into the woods to see what had become of Lirin. Lirin was bleeding very badly, and had been eaten up by his father, but was still going, and had turned his attention onto the man-killer standing frozen a few yards away. Kodi knew this man. He wasn't a man killer at all. He was one of the men in the town, and he had often seen him tending to the tame animals. Kodi had also seen him show affection to one particular woman person and two of the youthful children. He wasn't a bad man at all, and he lived on the edge of the town, which was not too far from there. It made sense that a man being who protected his family and his stock would want to rid the area of an ill creature. He was doing nothing wrong. As for Sunry, the humans killed bears all the time because the bears scared them, and frankly he could care less about it. But Lirin was going to hurt the man. He rushed up into the woods, flying as fast as his unusually big paws would carry him, snarling with rage, and attacked Lirin from behind. Because Lirin had been at a trot, not going so fast as he, and because he'd used so much force, the two went rolling to the ground, Lirin in a frenzy of blind anger. In a blur of clueless ness, Kodi had sprung upon a crazy wolf, and might have been bitten, for he was not at all good at fighting, and he was not at all good at dodging bites. But seeing a good man person being targeted made him remember all the fighting skill of his father, of his grandfather, of his great grandfather, just like his instincts, that'd been given to him by his great ancestors, he now could fight, and the two wolves grappled. Inaiki was fully aware of the fight, but had to keep his eyes on the man being, because the men were unpredictable, moody, and dangerous, especially when using the shot sticks that fired fangs and killed on the spot. Kodi and Lirin continued to grapple, haunched up and in full battle, growling and snarling and making malevolent noise. But the something odd happened.

As Kodi was unleashing generation after generation of ability, the blue wolf in front of him went rigid. Lirin's paws stopped flying; his jaws didn't snap and roar anymore. He was paralyzed, and dropped to the ground, his side heaving for breath, foam and saliva dripping from his mouth. Kodi was afraid, and whimpered, taking a few steps back but holding up his back paw, which Lirin had badly hurt. Lirin himself looked to be dying, and his eyes rolled wildly around, looking for help, until he was slowly lost of soul and life. The dead Lirin was almost as disturbing as the living one; as wolves go, it's not unusual to die, but to die because of an evil disease that takes hold of you, rattles your mind loose, and makes you kill until you yourself are killed, is very frightening. The man person was down on his knees, and looked very, very scared himself, but he slowly stood. Kodi, Inaiki, Dalorie, and the three pups were all watching him, waiting at a distance for him to leave and never come back. The man was breathing hard, and the clothes that he wore were ripped, but he smiled.

"The wolves of the west," he said nervously, turning back towards the town very slowly, with a stiff gait. "The wolves have saved me. Thank you." Kodi looked over at his father, and his father looked back at him. What was that man so worked up over? Why should he be so scared if all he did was watch them fight? It wasn't common for them to understand that they were praised for the life-saving move, but it was alright. Inaiki and Kodi met up, and Dalorie and the pups joined them, to create a small pack to move about the territory. Later on, there would be more, other rangers and loners and pups that were born would be in the pack, but right now, all they had to do was to make sure that Lirin was for sure dead, and to make sure that prosperity rained again. Thankfully Lirin had not gotten anyone else with his disease. That, in the end, would be even better than a bear being frightened out of his wits, or a wolverine running scared, or even a man person turning tail. The pack was now strong again, and the sickness plaguing their land was gone. And that was all they needed…although a few more elk would be nice.


End file.
